Thursday, August 12, 2010

Driver Chassis Selections: Michigan CARFAX 400

1. Kevin Harvick: Six top 10s in 19 starts; Eighth-best average finish (13.8) in the five races with the COT; Has yet to lead a lap in the last 13 races; Finished 19th in June; 10.5 average finish in the two races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 288) that he finished second with at Indianapolis and Auto Club this season.

2. Jeff Gordon: 13.6 average finish in the five races with the COT; Finished second in both races in 2009 and fourth in June; Has recorded two wins and 23 top 10s in 35 starts; 12.0 average finish in the two races on 2-mile speedways in 2010.

3. Jeff Burton: Coming off first top 10 (eighth) in 12 starts with Richard Childress Racing; 15.6 average finish in the five races with the COT; Scored eight top 10s with Roush Racing from 1996-2002; Third-best average finish (5.5) in the two races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 317) that he finished eighth at Pocono.

4. Kurt Busch: Led 60 laps from the pole en route to a third-place finish in June; Finish was fourth top 10 in nine starts with Penske Racing; Won this event in 2007 after leading 92 laps; Also won the 2003 June race with Roush Racing; Second-best average finish (4.5) in the two races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 734) in the CARFAX 400.

5. Jimmie Johnson: Coming off seventh top 10 (sixth) in 17 starts; 16.8 average finish in the five races with the COT; Only driver to lead more than 130 laps with the COT (356); Led 133 laps in this event last year; Finished 33rd in that event; Leads all drivers with a 3.5 average finish in the two races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will race the same car (chassis No. 610) that he led 92 laps with at Chicago before finishing 25th.

6. Denny Hamlin: Captured first win in nine starts in June after leading 123 laps; Win was third consecutive top 10; Sixth-best average finish (13.4) in the five races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 253) that he finished 10th with in August of 2009.

7. Kyle Busch: Tenth-best average finish (14.2) in the five races with the COT; Only top five (second) in 11 starts came with Joe Gibbs Racing in the 2008 August race; Started 39th and finished 23th in this event last year; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 280) in the CARFAX 400.

8. Tony Stewart: 9.7 average finish in three starts with Stewart-Haas; Fifth-place run in June was best finish with the team; Scored one win and 13 top 10s in previous 20 starts with Joe Gibbs Racing; Second-best average finish (9.2) in the five races with the COT; Has only led a combined five laps in last 10 starts; 7.0 average finish in the two races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 564) that he finished fifth with at Michigan in June.

9. Carl Edwards: Two-time winner; Leads all drivers with a 5.6 average finish in the five races with the COT; Overall 6.6 average finish in 12 starts also leads all drivers; Has finished 12th or better in the last seven races; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 695) that he finished seventh with at Indianapolis.

10. Matt Kenseth: Fourth-best average finish (11.2) in the five races with the COT; Two wins and 13 tops 10s in 22 starts; Finished 14th in the last two races; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 672) that he finished 10th with at Charlotte.

11. Greg Biffle: Two-time winner; Fifth-best average finish (11.6) in the five races with the COT; Coming off ninth top 10 in 15 starts; 9.5 average finish in the two races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 571) that he was running sixth with at Chicago until the engine expired.

12. Mark Martin: Leads all full-times drivers in wins (5) and top 10s (29); Won the 2008 June race on fuel mileage; 15.8 average finish in the five races with the COT; Finished 16th in June; 10.0 average finish in the two races on 2-mile speedways in 2010; Will race the same car (chassis No. 550) that most recently finished seventh at Pocono two weeks ago.

13. Clint Bowyer: Scored first top 10s in nine starts in 2009 races; Eighth-place finish last August is best-to-date; Finished 22nd in June; 17.2 average finish in the five races with the COT; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 315) in the CARFAX 400.

14. Ryan Newman: 23.3 average finish in three starts with Stewart-Haas; Last of four top 10s in 2004 was one of two wins with Penske racing; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 579) that he finished 11th with at Texas in April.

15. Jamie McMurray: Started second and finished 24th in June with Earnhardt-Ganassi; Last of four top 10s came in 2008 when he finished 10th in both races with Roush Racing; Will make 16th start in the same car (chassis No. 1006) that he won the pole with at Darlington and Chicagoland and finished second and fifth, respectively.

16. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Won 2008 June race in first track start with Hendrick Motorsports; 9.6 average finish in five starts with HMS; Coming off eighth top 10 in 22 starts with a seventh-place run in June; Will be back in the same car (chassis No. 599) that he finished seventh with at Michigan in June.

17. Kasey Kahne: Coming off sixth top five in 13 starts after finishing second in June; Winner of the 2006 June race; 15.2 average finish in the five races with the COT.

18. David Reutimann: Scored only top 10 (ninth) in seven starts last year in this event; Started ninth and finished 18th in June; 19.0 average finish in the five races with the COT.

19. Juan Pablo Montoya: Only top 10 (sixth) came in the 2009 June race; Finished 13th in June; Has yet to lead a lap in seven starts; 20.2 average finish in the five races with the COT; Will be back in the same car (chassis No. 1015) that finished 13th at Michigan in June.

20. Martin Truex Jr: Only top 10s in nine starts is a pair of runner-up finishes in 2007; Finished 17th in June in first track start with Michael Waltrip Racing; 21.4 average finish in the five races with the COT.

21. Joey Logano: 14.0 average finish in three starts; Best finish (seventh) came in this event last year; Fifth-best average finish (7.5) in the two races on 2-mile speedways in 2010.

22. AJ Allmendinger: 25.0 average finish in six starts; Coming off best finish in 11th; Will pilot a car (chassis No. 288) that he finished in the top 15 with four times this season.

23. Paul Menard: Has yet to finish in the top 10 in eight starts; 24.0 average finish in the five races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 683) that he finished 25th with at Michigan in June.

24. David Ragan: Posted two top-10 finishes in 2008, with a best third in the August event; 18.4 average finish in seven starts;
Will return in the same car (chassis No. 640) that he finished 34th with at Michigan.

25. Brad Keselowski: Finished 27th in first track start with Penske Racing in June; First start came in this event last year with Hendrick Motorsports where he finished 24th; Will pilot the same car (chassis No. 726) that he finished 21st with at Pocono in June.

2016 Rundown· Four wins, 17 top fives, 24 top 10s,· Led 1378 laps· Average Finish of 11.6Homestead-Miami Speedway Outlook:· One win, two top fives, four top 10s· Average finish of 21.091, 23rd-best· Average Running Position of 14.792, 13th-best· Driver Rating of 95.5, eighth-best· 1962 Laps in the Top 15 (66.8), eighth-most· 447 Quality Passes, 10th-most